As Our Lady Desires
by Fenwraith Auvryath
Summary: The newly crowned Princess Twilight Sparkle is about to discover the painful truth about her ascension. Her new found power and form has come at a terrible price, a price Princesses Luna and Cadence wished they could have warned her of, but sadly could not. All ponies are but playthings for their Lady...
1. Prologue

Prologue

Princess Cadence sighed heavily as she watched the newly crowned Twilight Sparkle enjoying the festivities of the coronation with her friends. The sweet smells of fresh apple pastries and the beautiful flowers of the Canterlot gardens wafted up to where she stood on the balcony overlooking the party. Princess Celestia stood by the fountain chatting with dignitaries from the Crystal Kingdom. The beautiful alicorn, nay, goddess, positively radiated grace and power. Every so often, she would glance over at her latest prodigy and smile with pride and joy. Cadence's heart grew heavy as she tried to recall the last time her Princess had looked at her with such elation.

The soft sound of light hoofsteps on stone signaled that Cadence was no longer alone. She glanced back to see Princess Luna. Luna regarded her once rival now turned dear friend with sympathy and concern. Cadence looked back out at the party and hoped Luna had not seen her tears.

"I know your sadness, young one, but take comfort in the knowledge that joy will come again. Our existence is not always so bad, and now we have a new sister."

"I know, Luna. I've known for a long time. I've tried to distance myself from it by taking a mate and volunteering for diplomatic missions, it's just…it hurts so much to see it so plainly."

"I am sorry, Cadence. Forgive me if it seems I do not feel it as well. Time may dull the pain, but I promise you, I still feel it." The two watched quietly for a moment, trying to soothe the broken pieces of their souls that remained.

"She's so happy, Luna…" Cadence said quietly, watching the young mare beam in the adoration of her Princess.

"She is. However, it will not be long before she seeks us out, my sister. It would seem our Lady tires of her amusements more quickly as time goes by. Let us hope she is as strong as Celestia believes her to be."

"We can only hope."

At the same moment, both princesses felt a commanding pull in their minds followed by a nearly overwhelming urge to acquiesce. "Come, Cadence. Our Lady calls us."


	2. Chapter 1

It had been about six months since her transformation, and Twilight Sparkle had never felt more alive. She had originally planned to return to Ponyville with her friends, and indeed for a time had. But something was different now, and she couldn't quite put her hoof on it. Sure, she enjoyed being with her friends and working at the library, but it just wasn't the same. It was almost as if there was a light inside her that grew dimmer every day, and as the light faded, so did her desire to do anything in Ponyville. She wondered if this was how the crystal ponies had felt before she and her friends had banished the evil king forever. Her mind often turned to Princess Celestia, and finally she wrote her a letter requesting to return to Canterlot. Celestia wholeheartedly agreed, and so Twilight went.

It seemed almost as soon as she arrived in Canterlot, the light inside her began to glow. Slowly her cheer and get up and go started to come back. Her time in Canterlot soon fell into a satisfying routine. Twilight spent her days in the royal library studying, practicing magic she had never in her wildest dreams imagined she'd be able to perform. Her meals were taken with Celestia and her fellow princesses. Every now and then, Princess Celestia would call upon Twilight to perform some task or another for her, and Twilight performed each with excellence and joy. It seemed the light inside her never burned brighter than it did when she served her Princess. Twilight wrote letters to her Ponyville friends every few days telling them all of the exciting things she was doing. They would write back telling her of Ponyville's latest news and asking when she would come home. Spike, who had decided to stay in Ponyville and look after the library until Twilight returned, missed her most of all.

The only thing about her new life that troubled Twilight Sparkle was Princess Cadence. Twilight had looked forward to getting to spend more time with her favorite old babysitter, but Cadence seemed troubled. Her smile and courtesies seemed a mask, and whenever she saw Twilight, some of the sadness behind it seemed to slip out. Whenever Twilight asked her what was wrong, her smile tightened and she'd laugh, insisting that nothing was wrong, she was only tired or lost in thought over this diplomatic mission or that. Twilight was unconvinced, but when she asked Princess Luna, she got the same answer.

Luna also seemed off to Twilight. Whenever she saw Luna, it seemed she was observing her in some manner. Whenever they were together, it always felt like Luna was on the verge of saying something to her, but just as it seemed she would speak, something else seemed to occur to her and she would take her leave.

In spite of the odd behavior of two of her fellow princesses, Twilight lived in a constant state of euphoria. She never knew she could be so happy, and could not fathom how she had lived before her ascension. The sheer magical power that coursed through her was incredible. Spells she had never thought she could master even if she had studied all her life could be cast as easily as drawing breath. And as if that wasn't enough, she could fly! She now understood the incredible rush her friend Rainbow Dash always spoke of. When she thought no one was looking, Twilight would soar into the air at amazing speeds and cry out in jubilation. But above all else, Twilight loved nothing more than to be with Princess Celestia. The love and pride on her Princess's face, the knowledge that she could help Celestia now in greater ways than ever before; nothing, absolutely _nothing_, was better than that.

One day, while enjoying a walk through the Canterlot gardens, Twilight happened upon a curious sight. Princess Celestia seemed to be playing hide and seek with somepony, but there didn't seem to be anypony else around. Just as Twilight was about to ask Celestia what was going on, a brilliant shimmer of light flashed, and a small orange unicorn filly with a fiery mane appeared out of nowhere and jumped out at Celestia. Celestia and the small filly laughed together and pranced through the grass.

"Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked.

"Twilight! I'm so happy to see you," Celestia said smiling, though her attention was still on the prancing filly, "I'd like to introduce you to my new apprentice, Sunset Shimmer."

"Hello, Twilight Sparkle! I'm super excited to meet you! Everyone says you're the best at magic in all of Equestria! Well, 'cept Princess Celestia, of course." Sunset Shimmer beamed up at the brilliant white alicorn, and Celestia beamed back.

Twilight was suddenly filled with a mixture of jealousy and hurt. Seeing the love and joy on Celestia's face, somehow Twilight knew she had been replaced in her Princess's heart. Her anguish quickly became desperation, and the terrible urge to hurt the young filly filled Twilight. Before she had time to reject the thought in disgust, Celestia turned to Twilight as if she had heard her thoughts. Her eyes narrowed.

"No." Celestia said, her voice filled with dark authority. In that instant, Twilight felt as though all of the light inside her had been sucked away. The darkness was agonizingly painful. She gasped, and her vision clouded. The last thing she saw before she passed out was the dark fury in Celestia's eyes.

"Princess Celestia, what's wrong with Twilight? Is she ok?" asked Sunset Shimmer.

"She's alright, little one," she responded, gently stroking the filly's mane, "Twilight has been working very hard lately. I keep telling her she should rest more, but she is ever devoted to her studies. It seems her tiredness has finally caught up with her. Say, why don't you run over there and bring us some grapes from the vine. I don't know about you, but I could use a snack after our games!"

Sunset Shimmer's eyes glittered as she nodded her head enthusiastically and rushed off to procure the tasty treat. As the filly dashed off, Princesses Luna and Cadence came up behind Celestia quietly.

Luna asked in a low, respectful tone, "My Lady, may we tend to our sister? We will talk to her when she awakes so that you will not need to punish her again. She is very smart, she will understand. You were right to have her join us."

Celestia gave permission with a dismissive wave of her hoof, "See to her. I am certain you will teach her well. She will have it easier than you did, Cadence. It's such a shame Luna wasn't here to help you when you joined us. Aren't you glad you returned, Luna? Everything is so much better now that you are where you belong."

Luna nodded submissively, "Yes, my Lady. I belong here with you. I will never be so foolish again."

Celestia nodded, "I know you won't, sister. And I trust, with your guidance, neither will Twilight."


	3. Chapter 2

_I can't escape this love, I want it the way it was;  
Forever, and always;  
Don't you leave me here, Alone in all this fear,  
Forever, and always...  
-"Dead Inside," by Skillet_

She was nothing. Everything was darkness. Even the pain was gone, for nothing cannot feel pain. The time that passed may have been a moment or an eternity, she did not know. However long had passed, eventually she became a whisper in the darkness, and slowly, a very faint glow. She felt a different kind of darkness envelop her; not the dull, black death that was, but instead a cool, peaceful restful sort of darkness. This darkness was dotted with tiny glimmers of light, like stars in the night sky. _Of course, _she thought to herself, _this new darkness is the night._ The glow that she was grew ever so slightly brighter and began to take form, and then she began to feel a soft warmth wrap itself around her. It reminded her of when she was a child. It was safe and happy. It was love.

The suffocating darkness continued to fade away, until Twilight became aware of the soft bed beneath her. She felt someone drape a fluffy blanket over her. Twilight groaned softly, feeling as though she'd woken up after sleeping for a hundred years.

"She is returning to us. Fetch her some cider, Cadence," she heard Luna say softly. Twilight felt the warmth around her fade slightly, and she opened her eyes. She was lying on a bed, and Princess Luna was lying beside her, her horn glowing ever so slightly. Princess Cadence climbed up on the bed beside the other two and offered twilight a nice hot mug of apple cider. Twilight sipped it slowly, letting the warm, spiced, golden liquid fill her senses.

"How do you feel, Twily?" Cadence asked.

"…ok," she said slowly, "what…why did…I don't understand," tears sprang to her eyes as she remembered what had transpired.

Luna placed a comforting hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Shh…it's alright now, little one. You're safe. Believe me when I say, my heart knows no greater sorrow than the fact that we could not warn you before you were placed on this path. Our Lady even forbade us to say anything to you until now."

"Why did she hurt me? _How_ did she do that? It…it was almost like she took away my soul..."

Cadence started crying softly and turned her head away. Twilight looked questioningly at Luna, who said, "My dear child…I'm afraid our Princess would not have been able to do what she did…if she had not already taken your soul from you." Luna closed her eyes and took a deep breath to compose herself.

Twilight's eyes went wide with horror, "What?! How could she…I don't understand!" Cadence started crying harder, all of the anguish she had held inside as she had quietly watched in horror as Princess Celestia had taken Twilight finally pouring out of her.

"It is very old magic," Luna continued, "older than Equestria as you know it. You'll find no books about it, nor any that mention the era in which it existed, save those in Celestia's private collection, though no one but she and I have ever seen them. That era ended right before the beginning of Equestrian history as you and everypony else in this world understand it."

Twilight could barely wrap her mind around what Luna was saying. She looked at Cadence, who nodded as if to confirm what Luna was saying. "Please, Luna, tell me more," Twilight said.

Luna nodded. "Long ago, alicorns were the prime inhabitants of Equestria. There were no unicorns or pegasi or earth ponies. We were all alicorns. Magic was the ultimate ruler in the land at that time. Whoever wielded the most powerful magic ruled the land. Various noble bloodlines with generations of magical talent in their heritage squabbled for ultimate power. Eventually, somepony discovered a way to increase their magical power in an almost unlimited fashion. This was the birth of soul magic. One pony would take the soul of another pony, and not only would their magical power increase wildly, but they would also receive a measure of that pony's special talent. In addition, the pony whose soul they took would be forever bound to them. This pony would still have their own magical abilities, but they were wholly in thrall to the pony who took their soul."

"Eventually, though, society began to fall apart. Those who took souls took more and more, competing with their fellows to become the most powerful. No one was safe. When common ponies got their hooves on information on how to take souls, total chaos erupted. They were tired of being subject to the noble, uber magical bloodlines, and so they took power for themselves. Celestia and I, we were daughters of the Heavensky bloodline. What was left of our family had barricaded ourselves into our home, but it was only a matter of time before the mobs came for us. Now, even without any sort of enhancement, Celestia was uniquely gifted in the magical arts. She found me in my chambers and told me she had perfected a spell to put an end to this once and for all, but even with all her power, she did not have enough within her to successfully cast the spell. She…she asked me for my soul. To save us all, she asked me for my soul. I was young and afraid. I knew my sister loved me and would not ask if there was any other way, and so I consented and allowed her to take my soul."

"She held me close and formed a shield around us, and then she cast her spell. Everything was suddenly overtaken by the most brilliant flash of light. I don't know if it lasted for a minute or an hour or a day, but when it faded, we were standing in a field, surrounded by confused creatures Equestria had never seen before. They stared at us in awe, and it did not take long for them to declare Celestia their princess. These creatures were like us, but they were different. Celestia had changed all of the alicorns save us, and she had wiped all of their memories away. Each alicorn had been split, it seemed, and they were the first unicorns and pegasi. Those who had no souls had become earth ponies. At the time, I was in awe of her genius. She had ended the horror without killing anyone. We helped the new ponies build a new world for themselves, and they revered us as their rulers. Some even thought us gods. All was well. However….eventually, things changed. Even performed for right reasons, soul magic is a terrible thing with a terrible price."

Before Luna could say more, the door to the room opened, and Celestia stood in the doorway. The way the light shined behind her made her look like a terrible black shadow of herself. She spoke in a sultry voice, "I require your services, Mi Amore Cadenza…" her eyes seemed to smolder like hot coals. Cadence stood obediently and walked toward her Princess.

"I am eager to please you, my Lady," she said respectfully. Celestia smiled wickedly.

"Dear sister, you should let poor Twilight sleep. It is late, and you have a beautiful night to keep watch over," Celestia said as she left with Cadence.

"As my Lady bids," said Luna. To Twilight, she said, "Rest now, little one. I will tell you more tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 3

_A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update, I had two papers due within a week of each other. I promise I'll post more soon!_

"So long as you do what she asks of you, I promise, no harm will come to you," said Luna as she and Twilight walked to Celestia's sun room for breakfast, "It is not so bad, this life. To please our Lady is the essence of happiness itself, you will find. To displease her…" Twilight shuddered. Luna continued, "I do not mean to frighten you, young one, but understand that to let you slip into oblivion as she did was a mercy. She could have drawn out the pain, if she so chose. But it was only your first offense, and our Lady is not without reason."

Twilight gulped and nodded, "What does she usually ask of us?"

"Whatever she desires. Often it is simple and well within our desire and ability; it is as nothing. Sometimes, however, she requires things that are more difficult or unpleasant. Sometimes there are dangerous tasks that require an alicorn's skills, or sometimes the Princess is simply bored."

"Why would that be difficult or unpleasant?" Twilight asked.

Luna regarded her for a moment, and then shook her head, "You have lost enough innocence for the time being. For now, let us break our fast." She pushed open the door and found Celestia and Cadence already waiting for them. Cadence looked as though she hadn't slept much, and Celestia was a vision of perfection, as always, though now for Twilight, the vision was somewhat tainted.

Twilight knelt before the majestic white alicorn and waited until she was acknowledged, just as Luna had coached her, "My Lady, I have offended you, and for that I was justly punished. I beg with all humility that you find it in your wisdom and grace to forgive your servant."

The Princess nodded and smiled, "Of course, Twilight. We all slip up from time to time, and now that you know where you stand, I trust there will be no further problems."

"Of course, my Lady," Twilight said, rising and walking to the table.

"You really are one of the most talented ponies I've ever had the pleasure of working with, and so I chose to enhance your power by transforming you, but, as I'm sure you know, nothing in this world is without price. But surely your devotion isn't too much to ask?"

"Of course not, my Lady," Twilight said, and thought to herself, _my soul might be, though_. She hastily glanced up at Celestia, hoping that her rebellious thoughts hadn't been heard, but the Princess sipped her tea calmly and didn't seem to have noticed.

"I knew you'd see it that way. Now, as for today's agenda, I'm afraid you may not have as much time to your studies today. Your friends from Ponyville have come to visit you. I'm sure you're anxious to tell them in person how exciting it is living here. You haven't seen them since your coronation." Celestia said in a congenial tone. Words filled Twilights mind as the princess smiled; _If you tell a soul, do not doubt that I will take it._

Twilight nodded, doing her best to look excited, "Of course, Princess! I can't wait to see them!"

"I knew you'd be excited. I'll be busy today working with Sunset Shimmer. She has a remarkable talent, did you know? She can manipulate light. She can make things ponies and objects invisible by bending it around them, and she can make it solid as a shield or as whatever object she can imagine. I've only seen a pony with a talent like hers once in my life time, and that pony was able to travel through light, almost as though she was making gateways and stepping through them. I think Sunset has that potential, and I'm eager to help her reach it. Fascinating, isn't it?" Celestia spoke with pride, and Twilight half wondered if she was trying to rub it in that she was no longer her Princess's favorite.

"Twilight! Over here!" Applejack called to her from across the courtyard. Pinkie Pie shrieked something that might have been words but was too excited and crazy to be understood. _I wonder if Pinkie has a soul,_ Twilight mused; _there has always been something unnatural about her energy._ Twilight chuckled to herself.

A light blue blur trailing rainbows crashed into her. "Oh come on, slacker! You should have been able to dodge that! Haven't you been practicing like I told you?! You'll NEVER be ready for the Cloudsdale races in time! I've talked you up BIG TIME to my friends there. You can't slack off cause you're a fancy scmancy Princess now!" Fluttershy helped Twilight up from where she'd landed after being tackled by the speed demon who was still ranting about work out schedules and gold medals.

Twilight spent the day with her friends. Rarity drilled her about Canterlot fashions and lamented quite dramatically that Twilight was not taking advantage of all the fabulous boutiques the great city offered. Rainbow Dash continued to talk about the upcoming races and how she'd even managed to teach Tank a few flying tricks to show off at the event. Her flying turtle would be the talk of the town, to be sure. Fluttershy was quiet, as usual, but Twilight made a point to ask her about Angel and the other animals, and also told her about the new baby wolpertinger that she had gotten to see. Pinkie pie was…Pinkie Pie. No logical mind could follow her ecstatic tangents, but it cheered Twilight to try all the same. Apple Jack talked about the various happenings in Ponyville, particularly the shenanigans of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Twilight told her friends about her studies and how nice it was to get to see Cadence and Shining Armor all the time. Heeding Celestia's warning, she told them nothing of the previous day's horror. She graciously declined an offer to visit in Ponyville, stating that the Princess kept her quite busy.

As they were saying their goodbyes, Applejack encouraged Twilight to come visit whenever she had the chance, as they all really missed her. "After all, y'all have wings now. Y'ain't got no excuse!"

Twilight walked back to Princess Luna's chambers as the sun was setting, and she heard Cadence and Luna talking inside.

"That can't be possible, Luna! Not even with all her magic! It…can't be possible, can it?" Cadence asked, a tremor of worry in her voice.

"I'm beginning to believe that this was why our Lady took Twilight Sparkle. Her talent for magic was all that Celestia needed to finally have her vengeance," Luna responded solemnly.

"That poor, poor pony…and she doesn't know anything at all?"

"No…heaven help her, she does not."


	5. Chapter 4

**_"_****Aut inveniam viam aut faciam**"

"What's going on?" Twilight asked as she entered the room. Cadence looked a tad startled, but Luna merely turned her head toward Twilight.

"Come in, sister. I fear there is not much we can do about this recent development, but you might as well be told all the same. Sit." Twilight joined her sisters among the cushions on the massive bed and looked to Luna to continue. "There should be four of us, now that our Lady has taken you, but there are only three."

"Was there another alicorn? What happened?" Twilight asked.

"Perhaps three or four centuries into our reign over the ponies of Equestria, Celestia began to change. Ponies began to disappear without a trace, and she would spend days at a time sequestered away in her private study. Whenever I did spend time with her, she was tired and short tempered, and eventually began to seem malnourished. She refused to tell me what was wrong. Eventually, at the behest of the council, I sought her out in her private study to discover what so consumed her. What I found was…truly horrific. The whole place reeked of death and decay. Books and quills and papers and inkwells where scattered everywhere, the whole place was in disarray. But, without a doubt, the worst of it all was the pile of corpses in the far corner of the room. Unicorns, pegasi, all in various stages of decay. Upon one table, one of the dead ponies had been cut into, as though to be examined. When Celestia saw me, she burst into tears. 'I'm sorry, Luna, I'm so sorry. I can't make it work. They just die, and then I am still empty,' she said. I asked her to explain, and she said that she needed to take another soul, that the emptiness inside her was excruciating, and that she needed another soul. But the unicorns and pegasi did not survive the process. Their souls frayed into nothingness and they died, leaving Celestia as empty as before. They were not strong enough. I tried to console her, to encourage her that we could find a way for her to be at peace without more souls, and then I said something I wish I never had: 'I am sorry, my sister, but there are no more alicorns.'"

Twilight's eyes went wide, "That's why she made us alicorns. To make us strong enough for her to take our souls."

Luna nodded, "It did not take her long to devise a way to turn powerful unicorns into alicorns. I tried to reason with her, but she would not hear it. When she took her first apprentice, I could stand for it no longer. I took the filly and spirited her away in the night to keep my sister from her, but Celestia found us. For my actions, I was banished to the moon for a thousand years."

"So it wasn't as the stories said?"

"No, it was not. I did not become Nightmare Moon until after my banishment. You see, if we are too long and too far removed from our Lady, we twist and change into empty things of evil. Were it not for you and your friends, I may never have returned to my true self. Anyway, Celestia eventually did change and take the filly in question; however her methods were not perfect. The pony still retained most of her free will, as I do. She could not disobey Celestia, but our Lady underestimated her ability to escape her power. The mare took her own life, and Celestia was deprived of a powerful servant."

Cadence murmured, "She may have taken her life, but Celestia still had her soul."

Luna nodded solemnly, "I thought something was familiar about our Lady's new apprentice, but now, I am certain of it. Using the magical talent she inherited from you, I believe she reincarnated her lost servant. Sunset Shimmer is not her new student, but her old one reborn."

"Is that _possible?_" Twilight asked in horror.

"We were uncertain until now, but Celestia let it slip to Cadence last night."

"She tends to get boastful when she's had a few mugs of hard cider." Cadence said softly.

"But surely Sunset is aware of this?" Twilight asked.

"No. The soul she used to recreate her was not within her when she died. Though, likely, when the time comes to take her soul again, Celestia will be certain to gloat over her. She does not like to be defied, and no one who does goes unpunished."

"This is terrible! We have to do SOMETHING!" Twilight said.

"There isn't anything we can do. Celestia always gets what she wants. We of all ponies are the least able to defy her. It's no use," Cadence said sadly.

Twilight stood up defiantly, "No. I refuse to believe that. I don't know about you ponies, but I am not going to sit here and cry without at least TRYING to do something about this. Celestia isn't the only one with magic. Either I will find a way or I will MAKE one!"

"Little one, when you stand up to the sun, you only get burned," Luna said.

"At least I'll know I tried." With that, Twilight left to go to her own room.

"Princess Celestia? If I may have a moment?" Twilight asked. Celestia looked up from the book she was reading. The bright morning sun shone through the windows onto her parchment covered desk.

"Of course, Twilight. What is it you need?"

"Well, my Lady, since Princess Luna explained to me how you gave me this gift, I have been very curious about what other magics might have existed in the old kingdom, and I was wondering if I could have your permission to study what records exist of them? I hope perhaps to find lost spells or knowledge that would be of use to you and the ponies of your kingdom."

Celestia cocked her head at Twilight, "Perhaps you mean to deceive me and instead hope to learn how to take a soul for yourself."

"Of course not, Princess! I-I would NEVER—"

She chuckled, "I believe you. I merely wished to see your reaction. Besides, even if you wanted to, it would be impossible for you. Soulless cannot take souls. As to your proposition, I see no harm in this. Perhaps you will uncover something useful I have forgotten. The entrance to my private library is concealed within the statue of Starswirl the Bearded in the rare and exotic books section of the library. This scroll contains the incantation to open it. Enjoy your studies." With that, she pushed the scroll towards Twilight and returned to her book. The audience was over.


End file.
